Soil carbon sequestration through improved microbial partners to cover crops
Research initiative to identify microbial communities recruited by cover crops, particularly legume varieties, that drive soil carbon sequestration. By correlating microbial composition with soil carbon gains, the project aims to develop microbial consortia and cover crop strategies that offset agriculture's carbon footprint.
Overview
This research program investigates how cover crops sequester soil carbon through their associated microbial communities. Studies have shown that cover crops vary in their capacity to build soil carbon, with legume cover crops increasing soil carbon by an average of 24.5% in meta-analyses. The underlying mechanisms remain poorly defined, and this project seeks to determine whether differences in recruited microbiomes explain these variations. By identifying microbial groups most strongly associated with carbon sequestration, the research aims to enable targeted microbial partnerships and cover crop selections that maximize soil carbon storage and help offset agriculture's carbon footprint.
Technical specifications
Research approach:
- Screening 108 strategically selected pea varieties to capture a wide range of phenotypic diversity
- Growing varieties in farm soil for 30 days, then sampling rhizosphere soil
- Quantifying soil carbon through percent carbon and percent soil organic matter measurements
- Extracting microbial DNA from rhizosphere samples and performing sequencing to assemble metagenome-assembled genomes
- Calculating Pearson correlation coefficients between soil carbon levels and microbial groups to identify microbes strongly associated with carbon sequestration
Key findings from preliminary research:
- Pea varieties show highly variable effects on soil carbon and microbial community composition
- Nepali pea landraces increased soil carbon more than wild and modern cultivars
- Landraces and modern cultivars have significantly different rhizosphere microbial communities
- Wild pea varieties show community overlap with both modern cultivars and landraces
Technology readiness level
The research is at an expanded validation stage. Preliminary work with 12 varieties has established proof of concept that cover crop varieties differ in microbial recruitment and carbon sequestration outcomes. The next phase will scale the analysis to 108 varieties to accurately identify carbon-sequestering microbial groups. Future applications include developing microbial inoculants or consortia and recommending cover crop varieties optimized for soil carbon storage, though these applications remain in the research and validation phase.
About University of Vermont
The University of Vermont is a mid‑sized, comprehensive public land‑grant research university in Burlington with an integrated academic medical center and a statewide mission. Industry partners engage through co‑located hospital and campus laboratories, shared core facilities, and field sites that enable clinical studies, validation, and prototyping. A statewide extension network connects companies with applied research, pilot demonstrations, and workforce training across Vermont’s communities. Research is supported by competitive federal funding from agencies such as NIH, NSF, USDA, and DOE. A dedicated technology transfer office streamlines IP, licensing, and startup formation and offers flexible agreements that make collaboration straightforward for corporate R&D.
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